Judith Hill

Matt Cermanski

Tue · December 17, 2013

Doors: 6:00 pm / Show: 8:00 pm

World Cafe Live - Wilmington Upstairs

$14.00

This event is all ages

All sales are final. Ticket prices do not include processing fees. There are no refunds or exchanges. Cameras & recording devices are not permitted. Showtime and supporting acts are subject to change..

All Upstairs tickets are General Admission. Dining is available at World Cafe Live at the Queen. To be assured of seating for an event, dining reservations are accepted for Upstairs Live, our full service restaurant. We recommend scheduling your reservation time 1½ to 2 hours before show time. For more information and to see menus, please read the Restaurant Info.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE SEATS are located on all seated levels of this theatre. For more information, please contact us at queentickets@worldcafelive.com or call 302-994-1400.

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Having literally spent her life immersed in music, Judith Hill has long been on a path towards capturing the depth and breadth of her artistic vision. Her remarkable journey has taken the gifted singer/songwriter/musician to stages all over the planet, both as a solo performer as well as alongside such icons as the late, great Michael Jackson. Now Hill is poised to take her own well-deserved place in the spotlight. A richly emotive vocal stylist and virtuosic piano player, Hill has spent pretty much her whole life to arrive at this plateau.

“I’m an organic soul artist with a passion to bring the world together,” Hill says. “The music, whether it’s funk or a ballad, it’s all about that message. That’s the thing that resonates most for me, that message and the heart behind it.”

Hill fell in love with the sounds of funk, jazz, and soul, with a special fondness for gospel, especially from a vocal standpoint – Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, The Winans. She rebelled against her mother’s piano lessons in her tween years but soon came back around. Hill pursued a degree in music composition at Biola University, where she wrote her first symphony as well as pieces for piano, vocal groups, chamber ensembles and string quartets.

After graduation, Hill spent a year in Paris, singing background vocals for legendary French singer/songwriter Michel Polnareff. Though a “great experience,” she quickly discovered that her true desire was focus on her own artistry. Hill returned home and began writing and recording songs, sharpening her performance chops at open mic nights. But fate threw her a curveball when a musician friend told her that Michael Jackson was looking for background singers and asked if he could submit her name for the gig. Hill agreed, of course, and to her surprise, found herself with the job.

Hill put her own music on hold and began rehearsing with Jackson for the planned “This Is It” world tour. In addition to her role as background vocalist, she was chosen to duet with Michael on the classic Bad ballad, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” later to become the undisputed highlight of the posthumously released film, This Is It. Working closely with one of popular music’s greatest talents proved both an inspiration and an education.

As the world mourned Michael’s death, Hill was asked to sing at Jackson’s public memorial. Watched by one billion fans around the world, the service’s emotional crescendo came from Hill’s powerfully poignant performance of “Heal The World.”

Hill’s desire to create “a more international experience rather than just American pop music” led to her spending much of 2011 traveling the world in partnership with Avon Cosmetics, serving as spokesperson and star of their worldwide Avon Believe World Tour. The trek took Hill to such faraway places as Istanbul, Shanghai, New Delhi, Warsaw, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Johannesburg. Further travels brought her to Southeast Asia and South America, where she performed as background singer with Stevie Wonder. While she had not planned to continue her background work, the offer to work with Wonder proved irresistible.

Judith’s musical journey has since brought her to doing music for Spike Lee’s film Red Hook Summer, the stage of The Voice and to the lens of film director Morgan Neville in the upcoming film 20 Feet From Stardom, which tells the true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musicians of the 21st century. Judith is now on the next leg of her great adventure. She’ll be recording her debut solo release due out later this year – and who knows where it will take her and us.

Matt Cermanski is one of the top up and coming Singer/Songwriter's from Philadelphia, PA. Matt is on Team Adam on Season 5 of "The Voice," and his debut album "Long Road Home" is available for purchase on iTunes. The single "Chapter One" from the album was also recorded by the Grammy award winning band, The Trammps. The Trammps performed the smash hit "Disco Inferno" (Burn Baby Burn), which was featured on the top selling album, "Saturday Night Fever." Matt has performed at numerous venues on the east coast including, The Trocadero Theatre, The Colonial Theatre, World Cafe Live, Steel City and many more. He has also been featured on NBC 10 the 10! Show and ABC Action News Philadelphia